Premier League DFS Picks for Saturday, August 22: DraftKings & Underdog

Premier League DFS Picks for Saturday, August 22: DraftKings & Underdog

Saturday's Premier League Gameweek 1 DFS slate features Everton-Crystal Palace, Ipswich-Sunderland and Nottingham Forest-Leeds on DraftKings, with Brentford-Tottenham added to the Underdog contest. Below are my top EPL DFS picks by position, including value plays, set-piece takers, goalkeeper options and Underdog draft strategy.

Come talk lineups in the RotoWire Discord before lock, and use the DraftKings Fantasy Soccer cheat sheet for updated projections, odds and starting lineups.

Premier League Gameweek 1 DFS Slate

• 10:00 am: Everton vs. Crystal Palace
• 10:00 am: Ipswich Town vs. Sunderland
• 10:00 am: Nottingham Forest vs. Leeds United

For detailed stats and odds, check out the DraftKings Fantasy Soccer: Premier League Cheat Sheet.

FORWARDS

Thierno Barry(EVE vs CRY, $7,100)

Barry has had a good preseason and projects to start over Beto for the opener. Everton are around 45 percent favorites at home, Barry is +195 to score, and Beto is stuck outside the projected XI. The catch is a full season in this league is still unproven for him, so the price is more about the matchup than a track record.

Jorgen Strand Larsen(CRY at EVE, $4,000)

Strand Larsen is the value forward... if that's what you're looking for. Crystal Palace are the biggest underdog on the slate, but he's still +200 to score at the minimum forward price, a better number than you'd expect. Jean-Philippe Mateta isn't at 100-percent fitness, so Strand Larsen is the guy up top. The risk is obvious: Mateta comes on at 60 minutes and Strand Larsen does nothing as a road underdog.

Igor Jesus ($8,100) leads Nottingham Forest at home against Leeds and is priced like the field is going to be all over him, but I'm not sure that happens. Brian Brobbey ($5,900) has a shorter scoring line than his price suggests with Sunderland actually favored on the road at Ipswich. Daizen Maeda ($7,900) and Emersonn ($7,500) are both new to Ipswich and to each other, so there's real uncertainty in how the goals get split between them early on. 

Calvert-Lewin ($5,700) gets his first look at his old team in a Leeds shirt, but they're road underdogs and he's always tournament or bust. Nilson Angulo ($5,700) is the cheaper way into the Sunderland attack, assuming he starts.

MIDFIELDERS

Hayden Hackney(EVE vs CRY, $6,300)

Hackney is the value play at Everton with James Garner out. He and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall are set to split the set pieces between them, and at $6,300 he's the cheaper half of that job in the best matchup on the slate. If Everton lean on Dewsbury-Hall for the tougher moments and Hackney's role stays limited to the set-piece share, the floor takes a hit, but the price already accounts for that.

Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall(EVE vs CRY, $8,800)

Dewsbury-Hall takes the more advanced half of that same split. The price isn't a gift at $8,800, but he's in the slate's best matchup and picks up the set-piece work that Garner leaves behind.

Harry Wilson ($6,600) takes Leeds' left-footed set pieces, or at least that's the assumption after moving from Fulham. Anton Stach ($6,500) takes the right-footed side of that same split and is the safer bet to play all 90, even though his game leans more defensive. 

Enzo Le Fee ($8,200) is priced as Sunderland's top midfielder in a game they're actually favored in on the road. Marcelino Nunez ($4,600) is the cheap Ipswich option if Sasa Lukic doesn't end up hogging that set-piece role. Iliman Ndiaye ($7,400) is filed as a midfielder on DraftKings and still looks like Everton's most involved attacker outside the two set-piece takers.

Morgan Gibbs-White(NFO vs LEE, $9,800)

This is really expensive unless Gibbs-White moves back onto a set-piece role. He's shown a great open-play floor, but as the most expensive player on the slate, he probably won't be very popular, making him useful in tournaments.

DEFENDERS

Trai Hume(SUN at IPS, $4,800)

Hume's value will depend on where he lines up in Sunderland's formation. If he starts higher up the pitch, he's close to a lock. If he's in a right-back role, the price is fair. He's on the same side as Leif Davis, who likes to bomb up the pitch, which could in turn leave room for Hume in behind.

Neco Williams(NFO vs LEE, $6,700)

Williams plays as the wide outlet down the left of Nottingham Forest's new formation under Oliver Glasner, which makes him the attacking wing-back with seemingly a split of set pieces. The price is up there for the position, but he's the one getting forward the most in a game Forest are favored in.

Leif Davis ($5,500) is a steady crossing threat for Ipswich and should take set pieces, similar to prior seasons. James Justin ($4,500) and Jayden Bogle ($4,900) are the Leeds wing-backs if you want a cheap piece of that attack, though their floors were often inconsistent last season in this formation. 

Vitaliy Mykolenko ($5,100) is the cheaper Everton full-back across from Jake O'Brien. Center-backs are correlation plays with your goalkeeper: Chris Richards ($2,600) and James Tarkowski ($3,900) pair with their respective clean-sheet builds for next to nothing.

GOALKEEPER

James Trafford(LEE at NFO, $4,200)

Trafford is set for his debut start with Leeds, a team that were top half the latter part of last season. Meanwhile, Forest have a new manager so they'll likely need time to improve under Glasner.

Dean Henderson ($4,000) is even cheaper and projects as the busiest keeper of the day for Crystal Palace, but he's carrying a questionable tag on the injury report this week, so check that he's actually in the net before locking him in. Jordan Pickford ($5,400) is the pay-up option in the best clean-sheet spot on the board if you'd rather just take Everton's win probability at face value.

Underdog Premier League Picks & Strategy

Saturday's four-game Underdog slate adds Brentford-Tottenham to the three DraftKings matches, and the draft format changes the approach. You're picking six rounds against five other drafters, so ADP, scarcity and correlation matter more than salary.

Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall is one of my preferred early picks with James Garner out and Everton's set pieces split between him and Hayden Hackney. Neco Williams is the defender I'd be willing to reach for in a favorable home matchup against Leeds, while Enzo Le Fee offers a safer midfield floor.

At forward, the first choice is Igor Thiago. Thiago has the better goal ceiling and works well in a Brentford mini-stack. At least in terms of goalscoring, he's the top option on this slate.

Anton Stach is the player I'm most willing to fade at his current ADP. Harry Wilson now takes some of Leeds' set pieces, which cuts into the role Stach had last season. He's still playable, but I'd rather let him fall a round.

Pedro Porro is out which means Archie Gray will probably start at right-back, which removes that position off the board for fantasy.

For later value, Marcelino Nunez is interesting if he gets a meaningful share of Ipswich's set pieces, while Tyler Dibling and Tyrique George become useful late-round options if either starts for Everton.

If you don't get Thiago early, a lot of the available forwards are similar in terms of output, so it wouldn't be crazy to wait a little longer on them.